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Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Sinners' Surges Past ‘Minecraft' at Box Office With $45.6 Million Opening Weekend
After industry estimates had the third weekend of 'A Minecraft Movie' topping the critically acclaimed 'Sinners' at the Easter box office on Saturday morning, the two Warner Bros. films have swapped places atop the box office charts as Ryan Coogler's horror film is now estimated for a $45.6 million opening weekend. Should this result hold, 'Sinners' will pass the $44.3 million opening of Jordan Peele's 2022 film 'Nope' for the highest opening of an original film since the pandemic. Not only is that highly likely, it wouldn't be surprising if the final weekend total for 'Sinners' is higher than this current estimate given that it is enjoying some of the most spectacular critical and audience buzz given to any film in recent memory. It starts with a straight A from opening night audiences on CinemaScore, the first given to a horror film since James Cameron's 'Aliens' in 1986. It then continues with a 5/5 and 84% 'definite recommend' rating on PostTrak and unbelievable Rotten Tomatoes scores of 98% critics and 97% audience. According to PostTrak, about three-fifths of tickets sold for 'Sinners' on Friday were walk-up sales, showing how quickly this incredibly positive word-of-mouth is spreading. As expected for a film from the director of 'Black Panther,' Black audiences are the top demographic at 49% on opening night followed by 27% white and 14% Latino, with extremely high scores across all demos. This strong result isn't enough to get 'Sinners' past the break-even point yet, as it has a reported net $90 million budget before marketing costs. But all signs point to the film legging out extremely well, especially with another weekend of Imax and premium format support still ahead before the arrival of Marvel Studios' 'Thunderbolts.' Along with casual audiences who may heard about the film for the first time thanks to the post-release buzz, there is likely a section of Coogler's fanbase that still hasn't seen the film yet because they are waiting for a convenient time to see it on an Imax screen. Meanwhile, Warner Bros.' other big hit, 'A Minecraft Movie,' is still setting the bar high as 2025's highest grossing film with an excellent $41.3 million third weekend, putting the film's domestic total at $345 million and its global total at $720 million as it is now a lock to cross the $1 billion mark worldwide. After a negative reception to its first trailer last year, the video game adaptation has completely turned things around with family audiences with its meme-driven buzz. As 'Sinners' and 'Minecraft' have dragged the box office out of its deep March slump and account for 64% of this weekend's grosses, they mark a major victory for Warner Bros.' film chiefs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy, who were facing murmurs in media reports that Warner Discovery CEO David Zaslav was considering replacing them. 'Sinners' in particular is a major victory for the two execs, as it is one of a series of original, auteur-driven films that De Luca and Abdy staked major money on in their efforts to rebuild Warner's image as a filmmaker-friendly studio following the shocking departure of Christopher Nolan to Universal prior to their arrival in 2021. As part of that effort, De Luca and Abdy agreed to extremely favorable terms for Coogler to bring 'Sinners' onto their slate, including returning the film's rights to the director after 25 years. 'As we continue to strive to bring an array of films to moviegoers, we are thrilled to see how Ryan Coogler's original movie 'Sinners,' and a movie based on the fan favorite 'Minecraft' game, have resonated with audiences in such a stellar way,' De Luca and Abdy said in a statement on Sunday. 'Movies have the power to transport us to worlds only seen on the big screen, and Warner Bros. Pictures remains committed to bringing singular in-theater experiences to audiences looking for bold movies, both original and those based on beloved existing properties.' The big original gambles from De Luca and Abdy will continue in the year ahead, as Paul Thomas Anderson's big budget crime drama 'One Battle After Another' hits theaters in late September with a similar level of premium format support as 'Sinners,' followed by Maggie Gyllenhaal's stylized horror film 'The Bride!' in March 2026. Warner Bros. isn't the only studio with reason to celebrate this Easter. Angel Studios' first animated release, 'The King of Kings,' is continuing its strong performance with $17.2 million in its second weekend and a 10-day total of $45.3 million. Christian audiences have shown in recent weeks with the success of Fathom's 'The Chosen: Last Supper' that they have plenty of appetite for cinematic takes on the Gospel and have shown it again as this Mofac Animation production has dropped just 12% from its $19 million opening weekend. 'At Angel, our Angel Guild plays a crucial role in picking winners, and this film is a testament to that vision,' Angel Studios distribution chief Brandon Purdie said in a statement. ''The King of Kings' is an epic, emotional journey made for the big screen. Theaters are responding by making room, and audiences are flocking in droves, speaking loud and clear: they're here for stories that amplify light.' Disney/20th Century's 'The Amateur' and A24's 'Warfare' complete the top 5, with 'The Amateur' grossing $6.8 million in its second weekend. The spy revenge thriller starring Rami Malek is shaping up to be a theatrical dud with $27 million domestic and $64 million worldwide after two weekends against a $60 million budget before marketing. 'Warfare' adds $4.8 million in its second weekend, giving it a $17.1 million total after two weekends. While well received from audiences, its graphic and realistic depiction of the Iraq War is keeping its audience appeal limited as it has yet to break even against its $20 million budget. Thanks in large part to Warner's one-two punch of hits, April has been the drought-buster that theaters have seriously needed as domestic totals for the year reached $2 billion on Sunday. After the first quarter of the year finished nearly 12% behind that of 2024, the year-to-date annual total is now 6.2% ahead of last year's pace while the deficit compared to 2023 levels has reduced from 17% to 14.4%. The post 'Sinners' Surges Past 'Minecraft' at Box Office With $45.6 Million Opening Weekend appeared first on TheWrap.
The Hill
06-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hill
Hollywood lands a much-needed box office hit with ‘A Minecraft Movie'
Hollywood needed 'A Minecraft Movie' to be a hit, and it delivered in its opening weekend, significantly narrowing this year's box office deficit. No one guessed just how big it would be. In its first few days in theaters, the movie earned a staggering $157 million in ticket sales from theaters in the U.S. and Canada, according to studio estimates Sunday. Internationally, it's looking at an additional $144 million for a global debut of $301 million. And with school spring breaks ongoing, 'A Minecraft Movie' is just getting started. Not only is it the biggest opening of 2025, 'A Minecraft Movie' also broke the record for a video game adaptation, a distinction previously held by 'The Super Mario Bros. Movie' ($146 million). Going into the weekend, analysts projected 'Minecraft' might hit $80 million. Instead, it nearly doubled that figure. Nothing is guaranteed in the movie business, but an offering based on the best-selling video game of all time makes for a good start. It hardly mattered that the block-based game doesn't exactly have a narrative. Many of its 200 million active monthly players turned out in droves anyway. The PG-rated movie, directed by Jared Hess ('Napoleon Dynamite'), was a co-production of Legendary Entertainment and Warner Bros. It cost a reported $150 million to make, not including marketing and promotion expenses. Jack Black and Jason Momoa lead the ensemble cast (Danielle Brooks, Emma Myers and Sebastian Eugene Hansen). Their characters are transported into an imaginative dimension called the Overworld and need to go on a dangerous, and immensely silly, adventure to get home. Critics were largely mixed on 'A Minecraft Movie,' but audiences gave it a more promising B+ CinemaScore and 4/5 stars in PostTrak exit polls. Men made up around 62% of the audience, and 64% were under the age of 25. Warner Bros. went big on its release, opening the film in 4,263 locations domestically and 36,000 screens internationally. 'Younger audiences love going to the movie theater, believe it or not,' said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. 'We thought this was an audience who would migrate to the small screens, but this is the perfect small screen to big screen alliance. It became a must-see theatrical event. Awareness was off the charts.' Video game adaptations have had some pivotal successes in recent years, including 'The Super Mario Bros. Movie,' the 'Sonic' series and 'Five Nights at Freddy's.' 'Video games were once a genre that had very mixed results at the box office, but the code has finally been cracked,' Dergarabedian said. Second place at this week's box office went to the Jason Statham action pic 'A Working Man,' which added $7.3 million in its second weekend. Third place was occupied by the second installment in the episodic 'The Chosen: Last Supper' series. Part two (made up of episodes three through five) earned $6.7 million over the weekend. The third and final batch of episodes arrive in theaters on April 11. 'Snow White' slid to fourth place in its third weekend, bringing in $6.1 million. It's now made over $168 million globally. It's been a difficult start to 2025 for Hollywood and movie theaters, with disappointments including 'Snow White' and 'Mickey 17.' But one hit can change the tides significantly, especially with in-theater marketing pushes in full swing for the pivotal summer movie season, which kicks off the first weekend in May. Before this weekend, the box office was running at a 13% deficit compared with last year. Now the gap is down to 5%.
Associated Press
06-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
Hollywood lands a much-needed box office hit with ‘A Minecraft Movie'
Hollywood needed 'A Minecraft Movie' to be a hit, and it delivered in its opening weekend, significantly narrowing this year's box office deficit. No one guessed just how big it would be. In its first few days in theaters, the movie earned a staggering $157 million in ticket sales from theaters in the U.S. and Canada, according to studio estimates Sunday. Internationally, it's looking at an additional $144 million for a global debut of $301 million. And with school spring breaks ongoing, 'A Minecraft Movie' is just getting started. Not only is it the biggest opening of 2025, 'A Minecraft Movie' also broke the record for a video game adaptation, a distinction previously held by 'The Super Mario Bros. Movie' ($146 million). Going into the weekend, analysts projected 'Minecraft' might hit $80 million. Instead, it nearly doubled that figure. Nothing is guaranteed in the movie business, but an offering based on the best-selling video game of all time makes for a good start. It hardly mattered that the block-based game doesn't exactly have a narrative. Many of its 200 million active monthly players turned out in droves anyway. The PG-rated movie, directed by Jared Hess ('Napoleon Dynamite'), was a co-production of Legendary Entertainment and Warner Bros. It cost a reported $150 million to make, not including marketing and promotion expenses. Jack Black and Jason Momoa lead the ensemble cast (Danielle Brooks, Emma Myers and Sebastian Eugene Hansen). Their characters are transported into an imaginative dimension called the Overworld and need to go on a dangerous, and immensely silly, adventure to get home. Critics were largely mixed on 'A Minecraft Movie,' but audiences gave it a more promising B+ CinemaScore and 4/5 stars in PostTrak exit polls. Men made up around 62% of the audience, and 64% were under the age of 25. Warner Bros. went big on its release, opening the film in 4,263 locations domestically and 36,000 screens internationally. 'Younger audiences love going to the movie theater, believe it or not,' said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. 'We thought this was an audience who would migrate to the small screens, but this is the perfect small screen to big screen alliance. It became a must-see theatrical event. Awareness was off the charts.' Video game adaptations have had some pivotal successes in recent years, including 'The Super Mario Bros. Movie,' the 'Sonic' series and 'Five Nights at Freddy's.' 'Video games were once a genre that had very mixed results at the box office, but the code has finally been cracked,' Dergarabedian said. Second place at this week's box office went to the Jason Statham action pic 'A Working Man,' which added $7.3 million in its second weekend. Third place was occupied by the second installment in the episodic 'The Chosen: Last Supper' series. Part two (made up of episodes three through five) earned $6.7 million over the weekend. The third and final batch of episodes arrive in theaters on April 11. 'Snow White' slid to fourth place in its third weekend, bringing in $6.1 million. It's now made over $168 million globally. It's been a difficult start to 2025 for Hollywood and movie theaters, with disappointments including 'Snow White' and 'Mickey 17.' But one hit can change the tides significantly, especially with in-theater marketing pushes in full swing for the pivotal summer movie season, which kicks off the first weekend in May.
The Independent
06-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Hollywood lands a much-needed box office hit with ‘A Minecraft Movie'
Hollywood needed 'A Minecraft Movie' to be a hit, and it delivered in its opening weekend, significantly narrowing this year's box office deficit. No one guessed just how big it would be. In its first few days in theaters, the movie earned a staggering $157 million in ticket sales from theaters in the U.S. and Canada, according to studio estimates Sunday. Internationally, it's looking at an additional $144 million for a global debut of $301 million. And with school spring breaks ongoing, 'A Minecraft Movie' is just getting started. Not only is it the biggest opening of 2025, 'A Minecraft Movie' also broke the record for a video game adaptation, a distinction previously held by 'The Super Mario Bros. Movie" ($146 million). Going into the weekend, analysts projected 'Minecraft' might hit $80 million. Instead, it nearly doubled that figure. Nothing is guaranteed in the movie business, but an offering based on the best-selling video game of all time makes for a good start. It hardly mattered that the block-based game doesn't exactly have a narrative. Many of its 200 million active monthly players turned out in droves anyway. The PG-rated movie, directed by Jared Hess ('Napoleon Dynamite'), was a co-production of Legendary Entertainment and Warner Bros. It cost a reported $150 million to make, not including marketing and promotion expenses. Jack Black and Jason Momoa lead the ensemble cast (Danielle Brooks, Emma Myers and Sebastian Eugene Hansen). Their characters are transported into an imaginative dimension called the Overworld and need to go on a dangerous, and immensely silly, adventure to get home. Critics were largely mixed on 'A Minecraft Movie,' but audiences gave it a more promising B+ CinemaScore and 4/5 stars in PostTrak exit polls. Men made up around 62% of the audience, and 64% were under the age of 25. Warner Bros. went big on its release, opening the film in 4,263 locations domestically and 36,000 screens internationally. 'Younger audiences love going to the movie theater, believe it or not,' said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. 'We thought this was an audience who would migrate to the small screens, but this is the perfect small screen to big screen alliance. It became a must-see theatrical event. Awareness was off the charts.' Video game adaptations have had some pivotal successes in recent years, including 'The Super Mario Bros. Movie,' the 'Sonic' series and 'Five Nights at Freddy's.' 'Video games were once a genre that had very mixed results at the box office, but the code has finally been cracked,' Dergarabedian said. Second place at this week's box office went to the Jason Statham action pic 'A Working Man," which added $7.3 million in its second weekend. Third place was occupied by the second installment in the episodic 'The Chosen: Last Supper' series. Part two (made up of episodes three through five) earned $6.7 million over the weekend. The third and final batch of episodes arrive in theaters on April 11. 'Snow White' slid to fourth place in its third weekend, bringing in $6.1 million. It's now made over $168 million globally. It's been a difficult start to 2025 for Hollywood and movie theaters, with disappointments including 'Snow White' and 'Mickey 17.' But one hit can change the tides significantly, especially with in-theater marketing pushes in full swing for the pivotal summer movie season, which kicks off the first weekend in May. Before this weekend, the box office was running at a 13% deficit compared with last year. Now the gap is down to 5%.
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘A Minecraft Movie' Ends Box Office Drought in Stunning Fashion With $58 Million Opening Day
How's this for some shocking good news? Warner Bros./Legendary's 'A Minecraft Movie' has exploded past even the most optimistic of expectations and is now projected by industry estimates to earn a $156 million domestic opening weekend from 4,263 locations. This is the sort of opening that can completely change the trajectory of the theatrical market, especially after a March in which overall domestic totals crashed below $400 million. If 'Minecraft' had been released in March, this result would stand as the third highest opening ever in that month behind only the 2017 'Beauty and the Beast' remake and 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.' And for Warner Bros., this result makes 'Minecraft' only the sixth movie in studio history to clear $150 million. Chalk it up as another win in the studio's fruitful partnership with Legendary Pictures, which also produces 'Godzilla x Kong' and the 'Dune' films. Prior to release, tracking had 'Minecraft' making $70 million-plus in its opening, and in the final days before release, those projections rose to $100 million-plus. But no tracker or exhibitor expected this 'Super Mario Bros. Movie'-level turnout from families and gamers, showing just how much cultural cache the sandbox survival game and digital creative playground has built since it was first released in 2009. The future for this film is also just as unpredictable, as the film earned a B+ on CinemaScore along with a 65% 'definite recommend' rating on PostTrak and an 86% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. A B+ for a family film is usually a warning sign, and the PostTrak and RT scores are positive but lower than what 'Mario' received two years ago. However, 'Minecraft' still has two weeks of school break play until Easter Sunday, and its only family film competition between now and Disney's 'Lilo & Stitch' remake in late May is Angel Studios' Christian animated film 'The King of Kings.' It's difficult to say at this point whether there are enough 'Minecraft' fans and kids willing to drag their parents out to get this film to the levels reached by 'Super Mario Bros.' or if this will be a more frontloaded film like 'Five Nights at Freddy's.' But even in the latter scenario, the film should still provide theaters with the pre-summer tentpole support it has been desperately needing for weeks. If you want a sense of how much this changes things for the box office, overall weekend totals are currently estimated at $197 million, making this the best weekend of 2025 so far and only the second of the year to top $100 million alongside Valentine's/Presidents Day weekend when 'Captain America: Brave New World' was released. By the end of Q1 this past Monday, the 2025 domestic box office was down 12.5% from the previous year. If this result for 'Minecraft' holds, the deficit will drop down to around 6%. Given the volume of films set in the next couple of weeks, including 'Sinners,' 'Drop,' and 'The Accountant 2,' expect that deficit to keep dropping. The post 'A Minecraft Movie' Ends Box Office Drought in Stunning Fashion With $58 Million Opening Day appeared first on TheWrap.
